Subject a lump of coal to sufficient pressure and heat, and it becomes a diamond. Okay, that’s a little simplistic, but really, a diamond is nothing more than carbon. It’s the hardest known mineral as measured by the Mohs Scale of mineral hardness, and will cut glass and just about anything else you use them on. They’re also very precious, and can be very expensive, depending on four factors: color, cut, clarity, and carat weight. They are, as Marilyn Monroe sang, “a girl’s best friend,” and they are the birthstone of people born this month, such as Mary.
Certain diamonds, known as “blood diamonds,” are mined in war zones and sold to finance those wars or the warlords that sell them. Many come from Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and other African nations.
But, there are lots of other kinds of diamonds. A few of my classmates had a surname of Diamond, including two of my friends, both of whom were named Mark Diamond. And they were in a lot of classes together, which meant they had to find a way to distinguish each other. Finally, one of them went by “Mort,” and all was well. Other Diamonds include Dustin Diamond, who played Screech on “Good Morning, Miss Bliss,” which evolved into “Saved by the Bell,” of which he was also a star, and Selma Diamond, who played Selma Hacker, one of the bailiffs on TV’s “Night Court” during its first two seasons, who, sadly, died of lung cancer in 1985. She had an impressive resume, as both an actress and a writer, and was the inspiration for the character of Sally Rogers on “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”

Clockwise from upper left: Spades, Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds (source: f l a n k e r, Wikimedia, released into public domain.)
Diamonds are a suit of playing cards as well, at least in the standard (French) 52-card deck we’re all familiar with. The King, Queen, and Jack of diamonds (called the “court cards”) represent Julius Caesar, Rachel (the wife of Jacob from the Bible), and Hector from Greek mythology. In contract bridge, Diamonds are the third-highest rank of the suits, behind Spades and Hearts but ahead of Clubs.

Baseball diamond (source: Wikimedia Commons)
And, of course, there are baseball diamonds. A baseball diamond is a square, 90 feet on each side. At each corner is a base, one of which is home plate, a pentagonal piece of hard rubber, at which the batter stands. Players score runs by making a full circuit of the bases (first, second, third, and home) before their team makes three outs. The pitcher stands on a hill in more or less the middle of the diamond, 60 feet and six inches from home plate, and throws the ball to the catcher, positioned behind home plate, trying to get the batter, standing in a box next to home plate, to swing and miss at the ball, or to hit it to one of the fielders… yes, it’s a complicated game and I’m just making it worse.
So, as you can see, there are all kinds of diamonds out there…
You really got all the possible diamonds in this piece! Love it.
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Clever AND informative! Excellent post! Thanks for sharing.
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Yay for baseball diamonds regularly on tv again. It’s been forever…or do it seems
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I know… the last spring training game for the Braves is on in about an hour. They start on the road on Monday. I’m surprised there wasn’t a team that started in Japan or Australia this year.
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Lots of info here. I prefer the sort that are in my engagement ring!
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Hello,
At the risk of sounding totally ancient, I have to say Neil Diamond is the kind of Diamond I generally prefer.
Best wishes,
Nilanjana
from Madly-in-Verse
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You know, I forgot completely about him…
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All kinds of diamonds! I agree with Nilanjana, I’m rather fond of Neil Diamond.
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I like the Neil Diamond, especially on a Hot August Night.
Great post! Glad to see you on the A-to-Z !
Cherdo
http://www.cherdoontheflipside.com
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Gotta be the jewel for me. Although I quite enjoyed the whole experience of a baseball game when I lived in Philadelphia for a year.
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Citizens Bank Park in Philly is kind of small, but it looks like a nice place.
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Quite a lot of diamonds. It must be quite difficult to make it from coal, or everyone would be doing it!
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It’s possible, but the equipment costs as much as just going out and buying a diamond. They sell manmade diamonds in jewelry stores for considerably less than the natural ones.
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‘Diamond Geezer’….fun post John. I enjoyed it.
Stuart
http://www.stuartlennon.com
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No wonder people have trouble learning English, think about how many ways the same word is used and it’s various meanings.
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And that’s not even the half of it.
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Wow – covered almost all the bases – as it were π
Actually, I didn’t know about the naming of the suits – cards – so, that was a fun and interesting!
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Diamonds is the birthstone for April (it’s my birthstone). And diamonds are a girl’s best friend. π
-Chrys Fey
Trempβs Troops – A to Z Co-co-host
Write with Fey
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Did you know, John, now they can take your body( after you pass on), and compress it into a diamond. Your wife can have the ring she’s always wanted. Ooh, that didn’t sound right.
Enjoyed your “D” day!
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I think Mary would prefer yarn…
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What a wonderful answer. I think I would too!
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Modern educational posters keep trying to teach diamond as a rhombus, and I frown at them. For me, a rhombus is a parallelogram, not the nicely proportioned “diamond” that we see in baseball.
Alex Hurst, A Fantasy Author in Kyoto
A-Z Blogging in April Participant
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Right– a baseball diamond is a square, 90 feet on a side. Sit at the end of one of the foul lines, you can see that. Technically, a square is a rhombus, because it fits all the requirements, but while every square is a rhombus, not every rhombus is a square.
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Yes, I know. I think it’s just my mind frowning at having to say “rhombus.” Diamond is a much prettier sound. π
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It is, and it’s what it’s called. Say “square” or “rhombus” to a baseball fan, they wouldn’t know what you’re talking about. Say diamond, they know exactly what it is.
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Another April person here, and I enjoy having the diamond as my birthstone!
Jared Diamond is the author of Guns, Germs, and Steel; Collapse; and several other interesting books useful for world-building.
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Thanks for telling me about Jared. I’ve promoted your book in my latest post, by the way.
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I love diamonds! (And Neil Diamond, read that post too!). Scientists have just found a new element that is harder than diamond. I’m rather sad about this! It has the revolting name of Wurtzite. It does not have the clean edge of the word ‘diamond’ in my opinion. Thanks for visiting me. ~Liz http://www.lizbrownleepoet.com
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Glad to see Neil make an appearance, even if he was an afterthought!
http://atozofrome.blogspot.co.uk/
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Although I prefer colored gemstones, I wouldn’t turn down a diamond!
I just heard my favorite Neil Diamond song yesterday. I Am, I Said. π
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Neil had a few good ones in the Sixties: Kentucky Woman, Cherry Cherry, Thank the Lord for the Nighttime, Solitary Man, Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon… I never knew he did Red, Red Wine before UB40 did.
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Did it? Hell, he WROTE it.
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I know, and I never knew that until going through Neil Diamond videos a few days ago.
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Diamonds are quite beautiful, but its still just a rock. π
Heather
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I read someplace recently that the only reason we think diamonds are valuable is because DeBeers tells us they are. Which is probably true. I can think of other gemstones (emeralds, rubies, jade, etc.) that can be just as valuable. But, that’s what they tell us…
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